Internet Friends?

I admittedly am a terrible friend. I'm possibly the world's worst friend, actually. That being said, it should come as no surprise that I have very few true friends. I have a ton of acquaintances, any of which could develop into wonderful friendships given the appropriate time and effort; however, I'm selfish and hoard the majority of my time for my family. I'm busy and often tired and given the chance to see a friend or spend time with my husband and children, I will almost always choose the later. Let's be clear, it isn't that I don't enjoy spending time with friends - I very, very much do - but I can't seem to get enough of those cute baby laughs. I'm addicted and can rarely turn down an opportunity to spend more time with my family. I guess this is a problem because lately Big C and I seldom have coinciding days off work leaving me with few options when I do find myself with some extra time and the desire for some adult conversation (or commiserating, depends on the day!). What is the answer to a problem I didn't even realize I had? The Bump MoMs. 


Since becoming pregnant with the boys (about 100 years ago), I've become part of a group of women with one common thread - we all have multiples. Twins, triplets, quads, adopted, spontaneous, whatever. We've all got at least one set of twins or higher order multiples. And let me tell you, in my experience, nothing creates a bond between friends faster than this particular shared lifestyle. You can't really understand the worry, stress, and joy of multiples unless you've got a set yourself. 

I stumbled onto The Bump while I was pregnant and then discovered the Multiples forum while on bedrest. The posts on this forum range from "I'm having TWINS!! SQUEEEEE!!!" to "Recommend your stroller" to "How do I get them to nap at the same time?!" and everything in between. Before my babies were born, I thought "well, I'll just figure it out as we go. Can't be that hard." HA. It was. I'm not sure what we would've done without the advice from some of the ladies I've friended from that board. They talked me down when I was near panic at the thought of 30 week preemies, and practically held my hand when I was terrified about my first outing alone with the babies. They convinced me that we really were going to live through the days of two hour feedings around-the-clock, and they were right. It's incredible how close of a friendship you can develop with someone whom you've never physically met. Meeting people can be so overrated ;)


I always thought it so strange to be friends with someone you didn't "know," but now I understand that "knowing" someone isn't the same as "seeing" someone. I see lots of people day-to-day, but I know very few of them. After being friends with the MoMs (Moms of Multiples) for so long, I've learned that I know several of them better than I know most people I've ever met in-real-life. I've shared things with them that most people don't (and will never) know about me, and I'm sure they have as well. We've come together when others were in times of need and offered support however we could. The wealth of knowledge in the group spans from the expertise of stay-at-home moms to teachers to special-effects makeup artists (ok, so there's only one of those, but you get the idea). I love the diversity of opinions and ideas the group can generate, and I'm so grateful for the times they've been there when I needed them. I'm proud to call them my friends.